About Eero Saarinen

The son of a renowned Finnish architect and a well-known textile artist, Eero Saarinen would go on to become one of the most iconic architects of his adopted homeland, the United States, during its post-WWII boom. Saarinen’s legacy includes symbols of mid-century American design—with their swooping, jet-age curves—like the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport in New York. In addition to his achievements in architecture, Saarinen was also a successful furniture designer, gaining notoriety after winning the Museum of Modern Art’s “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” competition in 1940, along with Charles Eames, for their molded plywood chair design. This success led to a long collaboration with Hans and Florence Knoll, and such icons of design as the “Tulip” chair of 1955–56, as well as other pieces that employ Saarinen’s “one piece, one material” philosophy.